This invention generally relates to a vascular catheter for the delivery of therapeutic fluids and particularly for the uniform delivery of thrombolytic fluids to a vascular location of a patient having a thrombus or clot.
The utilization of therapeutic fluids containing tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), urokinase and streptokiase have shown promise in the treatment of thrombus or clots in a patient's arterial have been limited by the fact that the patient's total body is medicated in order to effect sites in the patient's arterial vasculature. Direct delivery of thrombolytic fluids to the target tissue would allow for a much more effective treatment procedure. However, there have been no effective delivery systems available. More particularly, there has not been available a delivery system which can deliver a uniform flow of such therapeutic fluids along the length of a thrombus in a patient's artery. The present invention satisfies that need.